1.

To ascertain the existence of an employer-employee relationship jurisprudence has invariably adhered to the four-fold
test, to wit: (1) the selection and engagement of the employee; (2) the payment of wages; (3) the power of dismissal; and
(4) the power to control the employee's conduct, or the so-called "control test." 18 Of these four, the last one is the most
important.19 The so-called "control test" is commonly regarded as the most crucial and determinative indicator of the
presence or absence of an employer-employee relationship. Under the control test, an employer-employee relationship
exists where the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end achieved, but
also the manner and means to be used in reaching that end.